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KIDAPAWAN CITY (MindaNews / 7 June) – An employee of the Datu Montawal municipal government in Maguindanao was shot dead by still unidentified assailant 10 a.m. Wednesday, police reports said.
Insp. Rasul Pandulo, chief of the Datu Montawal Police, identified the victim as Tato Macabatal Budi, an employee of the Datu Montawal LGU whose task was to collect toll from passenger vans, buses, and other vehicles plying the Datu Montawal highway.
Pandulo said the victim was busy collecting toll fees and issuing tickets afterwards when one of the gunmen, on board a motorcycle, shot him in the head.
When the suspects saw their target was dead, they immediately left the area and exited towards Kabacan highway.
Budi was alone in the ticket booth when the incident happened.
The bystanders who saw the victim oozing with blood brought him to the nearest hospital in Pikit town in North Cotabato but attending physicians pronounced him already dead.
Pandulo said they have three angles to start with in their investigation on Budi’s murder.
The killing, he said, could be work-related or has something to do with illegal drugs, or could be brought by clan feud. (Malu Cadelina Manar / MindaNews)